What's your favourite part of life?

Me on Tathra beach at dawn - lovin' life

That's what I asked my honey this past weekend on a trip to the coast.

"What do you like most about life?"

I was getting ready to hear "golf, surfing, the beach" and already had my answer lined up:

"the ocean, sunny days, swimming, skiing, hiking, nature, whales, dolphins..." I could fill a whole journal with what I love about life.

Rob's answer came back short and sweet:

"Being happy."

What? Being happy is what you like most about life?

Wow.

That is probably the most profound and simple answer to life's quest for meaning I have ever heard.

You see, Rob is happy most of the time. He hums in the shower. He has fun at work (and he's a divorce lawyer for goodness sake! He spends his day handing people a box of tissues and splitting up their assets and care for children. Not the most uplifting work, but he is happy doing it!)

Rob's recipe for happiness is simple: 'what's the point in being miserable?'

So he chooses to feel happy. Every day. No matter where he is, what he is doing, or who he is with.

He doesn't need to earn millions. He doesn't need to have a fancy car (though he covets a Maserati bi-turbo spider).

He doesn't even have to live by the sea, though this is is favourite place in the world. A morning surf before work is the thought that gets him licking his chops like a cat with a canary.

So while he indulges his fantasy of driving a slick machine an frolicking with wild abandon in the surf, Rob is happy anyway. Happy now, happy later.

He chooses happiness itself, not circumstances as his source of joy.

Who knew I was married to the Dalai Lama?!

Sometimes our greatest teachers are much closer than we think.

Here are some photos for you to perk up your day:

humpback whales by Tathra - waving a fin

Mum and bub moving out to sea

bub's flick of the tail

The Dalai Lama and another groover - Steve Fletcher

It seems the Dalai Lama really gets around! Here he is with my buddy Steve.

Obviously, it's true that like attracts like. I first met Steve in the summer of 1990 I think it was. He was a totally gun canoeist and he was teaching us advanced canoeing skills. He was very gung-ho with early mornings and late nights. Also a marathon paddler, we were dumbfounded by his boundless energy.

Later that year he was in a car accident on a lonely road in northern Manitoba in the middle of winter. He hit a moose and was unconscious for a long time.

Steve survived, minus the use of his limbs.

How do you go from a life of intense sporting activity to one of physical paralysis?

We were all devastated for Steve.

When I went to see him in hospital, I was dumbfounded yet again. Here was a man who was never going to paddle again, his lifelong passion, and yet already he had a philosophical attitude about it all. He was even watching the videos from that summer - of himself dancing around and pulling off some crazy canoe stunts.

Above all, Steve said he was grateful - grateful for being alive.

And this is what distinguishes Steve from many: he had a choice to focus on what he'd lost, or focus on what he had in front of him. One felt terrible, the other was a blissed out space of gratitude.

I can't imagine for one second it was easy, or that it has been all beer and skittles for him. Steve however was not one to wallow in self-pity. This is his official bi-line from his Facebook page:

"Steven Fletcher was first elected to the House of Commons in 2004 and re-elected in 2006. He served as the Official Opposition Critic for Health and was a member of the Standing Committee on Health. Prior to his election, Mr. Fletcher worked as an engineer in the Mining Industry until an automobile collision with a moose, left him a quadriplegic, paralyzed from the neck down. He returned to University where he obtained a Master's in Business Administration (MBA). He was elected for two terms as the president of the student body at the University of Manitoba (UMSU). He also served two terms on the University of Manitoba Board of Governors and as a member of the Board of Directors of the Canadian Alliance of Student Associations (CASA). Mr. Fletcher was twice elected the President of the Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba and has played a leading role in many community organizations."

Did Steve 'attract' his accident? What were his thoughts prior to the event? How do you explain something like that?

What's more important for me, from a Law of Attraction perspective, is the energy Steve has radiated since. He inspires. He lives a full and engaging life. He has a sharp wit and a massive heart. He is peaceful and loving. He focuses on his intentions, not his past. He celebrates life and living.

Just like the good ole Dalai Lama.

Good on ya Steve. And the Dalai Lama too.